Attendance at Murray Park School
Murray Park School is committed to working in partnership with parents and carers, so that pupils achieve their full academic and personal potential. For a pupil to achieve this, a high level of school attendance is essential. We carefully monitor attendance and punctuality and work towards a goal of a minimum of 97% attendance with the aim of 100% attendance for all pupils. Good regular attendance allows pupils to benefit as fully as possible from everything the school has to offer.
When absences occur, it is more difficult for pupils to achieve their best. We realise that some absences are unavoidable and offer a range of support if students have particular problems. Every opportunity will be used to convey to students and their parents/carers the importance of regular and punctual attendance. Considering this, parents are asked to take steps to ensure students attend school every day.
Every missed day is a missed opportunity—low attendance can lead to gaps in learning, lower grades, and reduced confidence, impacting your child’s future success. Regular attendance helps build good habits, keeps your child on track academically, and strengthens their social connections. When children fall behind, it becomes harder for them to catch up, increasing stress and the risk of disengagement. Your involvement is key—helping your child attend school consistently sets the foundation for lifelong success.
Everyday counts, to help your child to be successful in school.
However, that 1 or 2 days off can soon mean lots of learning missed.
1 day per week = 8 weeks lost learning
2 days per week= 16 weeks lost learning
3 days per week = 24 weeks lost learning per year!
Every school day counts BUT EVERY MINUTE is equally as important.
5 minutes late = 3 days lost
10 minutes late per day = 6.5 days lost
15 minutes late per day = 10 days lost
20 minutes late per day = 13 days lost
30 minutes late per day = 19 days lost each year!
Students with below 90% absence may be referred to the Education Welfare Service and they may wish to contact you to discuss issues and ways to improve attendance.
Absences matter and you can help
We will write to all parents if their child has been off more than the average amount of absence time for the school cohort. The letter will inform them of the number of days their child has not attended. Whilst the absences may have been authorised, we know that parents want to support their child in their education and the school, in encouraging their child to have good attendance. If you receive a letter please speak to your child about their attendance and if there are issues we can help you with, please talk to your child’s form tutor or Head of Year. We do not want any student to feel they are falling behind due to absence.
Parent/carer responsibilities
Parents are expected to:
> Make sure their child attends every day for every timetabled session on time
> Call the school or message via the school app to report their child’s absence before 8.30am on the day of the absence and each subsequent day of absence, and advise when they are expected to return
> Provide the school with more than 1 emergency contact number for their child
> Ensure they tell the school in advance, of any medical appointments and bring in appointment cards/letters, where possible we advise that these are made out of school hours or towards the end of the day
> Have a backup plan for if their child misses transport, call on a family member, neighbour or friend.
> Keep to any attendance contracts that they make with the school and/or local authority
> Seek support, where necessary, for maintaining good attendance, by contacting their child’s Head of Year, Pastoral Manager, School Welfare Officer and Attendance Officer who can be contacted via 01332515921 or through the school app.
If you are not sure whether your child is well enough to attend school, send them in anyway as they often perk up on arrival. Information about when you can send your child to school can be found on this link: NHS – Is my child too ill for school?
Pharmacy First
The Pharmacist can also provide guidance for your child/children when you have not been able to book a GP appointment.
Follow these links for further information:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/primary-care/pharmacy/pharmacy-services/pharmacy-first/
Holidays
A holiday is not considered an exceptional circumstance. You cannot usually take your child away during term time. You can be fined or face legal action for taking your child on holiday during term time. If you wish to take your child out of school for a day of religious observance, you will also need to complete a leave of absence form.
Please read the following government guidance regarding what you need to know about taking your child out of school:
Fines for parents who take children out of school.
Your Support.
We appreciate your support in keeping us informed promptly of any absences from school. If there are any issues regarding attendance that you would like to discuss with the school, please either contact your child’s Head of Year or the Attendance Team.
The Attendance Team are:
Farzana Bheda – Attendance Officer
Aldith Kaye – School Welfare Officer
Theresa Lucas – Assistant Headteacher ‘Senior Attendance Champion’
The following government guidance around attendance has been updated on the 19th of August 2024:
Working together to improve school attendance August 2024
Here is a link to our attendance policy which has been updated with current guidance and our inclusive approach to attendance:
There are online resources available to help you and your child with mental health, this can be accessed via the safeguarding page on our website.
If you have any safeguarding concerns about any child please refer to our safeguarding page on the website.
